Orioles Add A Gulf Coast League Team

During the recent affiliation shuffle, the Baltimore Orioles were big winners landing Norfolk as their Triple-A affiliate. That addition gives the team one of the best affiliation situations of any team with all of their full season teams located within easy driving distance of Baltimore.

Now the club has announced another step towards improving the farm system by adding a Gulf Coast League affiliate that will mark the franchise’s return to the GCL after a three year absence.

“We are looking forward to the addition of a seventh affiliate,” farm director David Stockstill said in a release. “By having another team at that level, we will have a greater opportunity to give the best possible instruction to younger and foreign-born players as they adjust to their first experience in pro baseball.”

The Orioles will join the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals as the only clubs to have seven North American minor league teams.